


Shimmering Stories

by GoodtimeGambler



Series: 10 Snapshots [2]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 15:56:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20410405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoodtimeGambler/pseuds/GoodtimeGambler
Summary: Ten snapshots of the Last Safe City age, as seen by young guardian Shine, and their old ghost Shimmer.





	1. Shimmering City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shimmer has led her guardian somewhere new.

“So...this is it. A city? This is what a real city looks like?” They were so excited, Shimmer laughed at them. Her new light-bearer was silly, charming, and so, so curious. Their name was Shine.

Their hands fidgeted with the cloak covering them down to the hips. Shimmer spun her shell in the morning air of the mountainside they were staring from. “Yes, yes this is what a ‘real’ city looks like. I’ve seen a lot of them.” It was an impressive construction. In the shadow of the traveller was what people were calling the Last Safe City. “But this one is going to be different, I can feel it.”

Shine hopped down from the little ledge they were on, back onto the mountain trail. It was worn with footprints. Then again, even as Shine talked to Shimmer, people were coming up the trail behind them. “I really think so, too. Everyone coming here is so worn-down, I’m really glad we could help a few of them.” They’d been running the start of the mountain path back and forth for several days now. Fallen had been an issue before their arrival, but now the incoming people were decently safe. Shimmer was proud. They’d only been alive for seventy-something years, but this light-bearer was pure of intention and heart. Just like she’d been a long time ago.

“They were in a lot of danger. What do you say we make another run down? Further away from the mountain’s base this time.” Shimmer watched a small group of people pass them, they were shepherding a few small, wide-eyed children between them. It was good to see people flocking to this place. The city defenders were well-organized, and were even building the beginnings of a wall around the place. It would be impressive once it was done. It’d been a while since Shimmer saw so many hopeful people in one place.

Shine rolled their shoulders, starting to jog back to the mountain path’s beginning. “Mhmm, yep. Another run sounds good.” Three eyes scanned the rocks intently, looking for signs of both trouble and travellers. The pair liked to greet the groups arriving, it was nice to be able to tell them the area was safe. After all, Shine wasn’t the only one running around looking after the place. The natural barrier of mountains was crawling with light-bearers trying to help people get to the Last Safe City.

The pair was half way down when a scream rang out over the rocks. “Shimmer!” Shine’s warning prompted their ghost to integrate into their HUD. Best not to risk being destroyed in whatever commotion was going to start.

“Jump right!” Shimmer’s bell-tone voice chimed in over the coms. Of course, Shine listened and launched themselves down. Their descent was a curious series of nonsense maneuvers and flips, equipment clacking against their armor. Ten seconds was all it took for Shine to see the problem. A lady was hanging off the side of a decently long drop. Must have slipped. She was alone with a bag slung over her shoulder, no companions in sight. Shine ground to a halt perhaps two feet from her hands, and threw themselves to the dirt to grab the woman’s wrists.

“Gotcha!” They hauled the lady up. Her front was covered in dirt, but she was alive. Shine laughed, “That was close! You okay?”

She took a deep, gasping breath, “Yes. Yes, thank you. I just-” she sat up on her knees, “need a second.

“That’s goo-” Shine’s vision cut out.

Shimmer jolted out of their HUD to shelter in their light-bearer’s cloak. “Get down!” Her voice was cutting and angry, directed at the woman. Shimmer couldn’t see to tell if the lady did as she was told, but, then again, Shimmer didn’t have time to worry about her.

Shine was back to life in short order.

“Damnit!” Their curse was a hiss as they threw themselves down the mountain path again. Once again, their movements were a complicated set of nonsense gymnastics. Wire rifle shots filled the air, but none of the Fallen were quick enough to land another shot; not to mention Shine’s movements were too erratic to try and predict as a compensation for lack of speed. 

Once the small group of Vandals were in range, Shine made a long jump. Arc lept to their fingertips, and formed a helmet-sized projectile. When it landed in the center of the Vandals, their rifles short-circuited. Of course, this made for a decent explosion. Shine landed gracefully in a roll.

“Yikes. I wasn’t expecting that one.” They collapsed against a sheer side of the mountain. “Still with me?”

Shimmer sighed into their helmet, “Yes, I’m here. Hurry down, we have to see if anyone didn’t make it.”

A frown spread on Shine’s face, “Yeah. Let’s hope they wanted to get rid of me first.” This time they sprinted down the path, clearing rocks, mud-patches, and even some small gaps without hesitation. Shimmer started to scan the area for motion and heat signatures, but paused to look at the sky. Such a bright, clear blue.

There was always more work to do.


	2. All that Shimmers is Silver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some things that are lost should remain so.

“Oooh, what's this?” Shine crouched to pick up something shining from the dirt at the edge of an overgrown sidewalk. It was rare to find something new or out of place in a mostly empty city, especially a Golden Age city like Chicago.

“Hm?” Shimmer was paying more attention to the coms and radar than anything else. There were only two hunters in the entire city, and that meant she needed to be on guard. If something happened, nobody would be close enough to help. Traveler knew Shine never paid attention to the radar.

“This looks like that little patch of purple on your shell, doesn’t it?” Shine was smoothing a thumb over a shard of glistening enamel. “It's on a, uh, chain though? A silver chain. I thought you said the bit on your shell was one of a kind.”

Shimmer materialized out of her guardian’s HUD almost instantly. It would be _ impossible _for it to be the same thing. Impossible. Vicious’ chestplate was gone. Scrapped. Deconstructed atom by atom, save for a very few precious shards...but there it was. In Shine’s hand rested a piece of it on a tarnished chain. Another piece of the purple enamel so painstakingly painted by Vicious. This shard in particular held letters. Shimmer knew what word the piece had been a part of. “Hurt” 

_ “You cannot hurt me in a way that matters.” _

The script had been under Vicious’s belt. A reminder for himself and no one else.

“Leave it.” Shimmer disappeared, moving herself back into Shine’s HUD. The only ones she'd let have a piece Vicious' chestplate were Myst, and Wu Ming. One of them must have lost or thrown away their shard. Probably thrown it away.

Shine clicked their tongue, “Aw, c’mon. I’ve never seen anything like it. We can each have a piece now! To mark us as a pair. A bit on your shell and a bit on my armor.”

Shimmer was silent, if she had blood it would have run cold. Why? Why was thing happening. Vicious left her a long time ago. Let him stay gone.

“Yep. That’s what we’re doing. I’ve decided!” Shine tucked the chain and the enamel piece it held away into one of his belt pouches. “No buts.”

Somewhere in Shimmer’s mind, she hoped with everything she had that this wasn’t a sign. 


End file.
